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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 3 Hansard (27 March) . . Page.. 750 ..

MR WOOD (continuing):

I attended a number of events. The balloons at 6.30 in the morning are a sight worth getting up for, even if it is cold and, on the day, too windy, and even if, like me, you prefer to stay on the ground, Chief Minister, and admire the spectacle, though I am going up at some stage. I have been in most forms of airborne travel. At lunchtime I found it pleasant to wander through Glebe Park, perusing the craft stalls and sampling the food available from the CIT cafe. The Outdoor Art Show is always well patronised by a wide variety of people admiring the output of local artists. Groups of schoolchildren were wandering the park, pausing to watch the clown show. Even younger children with their parents enjoyed the ACTEW maze and the jumping castle.

I did miss the band performances by our primary, high school and college bands, which are usually a wonderful feature of entertainment in Glebe Park. The Government's inability to end the industrial dispute between it and the teachers is causing many students, parents and teachers anguish, as the usual out-of-school-hours activities such as bands and choirs were cancelled. I also attended Dante's Inferno, like many others making two trips, when the first performance was cancelled due to high winds. The second night I, along with many others, learnt from the experience of the first night and went even earlier and with even more coats and the like. It was truly spectacular, both for the audience and for the hundreds of performers. The music, the use of fire, the costumes, the processions and the dances were magnificent, and my congratulations go to all involved. I know that there were many other popular events - the revamped Food and Wine Festival, Sky Fire, ACT Alive, Beating the Retreat, Trial by Jury, art and craft exhibitions, concerts and dances, antiques, flowers and exotic plants.

I congratulate the people involved in the Canberra Festival on another job well done and I particularly congratulate them on their willingness to look at new ideas and revamp old favourites - the subject of a discussion I had with them on a number of occasions in earlier years. The Canberra Festival retains its allure by doing things a little differently every year and by introducing new attractions to replace those that may be getting a little tired. I look forward to next year's festival, to revisiting old favourites and to discovering new and innovative attractions.

MR KAINE (5.19): Mr Speaker, I will be quite brief. I just wanted to tell Ms Follett that, if she can get a list of names of the people who answered that letter, have I got a deal for her!

Question resolved in the affirmative.

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